After an extended unannounced break...

I've found my way back to this space. I had a lot going on. Those things took me away from the freedom of blogging about my simple life. I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of things to update about in this dance we call life.

So...hello out there Internet! I hope to share more and learn more everyday.

Rosemary Bread

It's been really cold here, and actually it appears the whole United States is really cold this week. So, that has led to more baking around here. The Boy and I tried out a new recipe yesterday. It came out delicious and was really easy. This is the recipe we used. By the way, the fresh rosemary I used is a potted plant I have had for a year now. It is one of the easiest plants I've owned.

Rrrrooooaaaar!

That's the first thing the Boy said when we finished putting this 3-D puzzle together. I can honestly say, I needed better directions than the one that came with this. Luckily, the Boy doesn't take after me in that respect. He figured it out right away, and we worked it out. He hasn't decided about painting it yet. I think the Boy and I are going to pick out some more to stow away for other days.

2009

I'm not even going to try to list any resolutions here. Mainly because I've learned that I don't stick to them. I'm more likely to stick to something if I don't write it anywhere. I think it's a mental block.

There are some things I would like to do more this year though. It plays right into my previous entry. I want to spend more time at the beach. For some reason, we rarely go to the beach. I used to blame it on the bath water feel to the ocean this far south, but now I am thinking maybe that isn't the reason.

I'd also like to take my yoga a bit more seriously. Again, not really sure why I keep putting things off that I love so much.

And, for instant gratification, I would like to change the color of my living room. Actually, since our house has such an open floor plan, that would mean painting almost my entire living space.

Most important, I want to not let life move too quickly. I don't want to miss any of the moments with the Boy and the Husband. I need to just enjoy the moment more. I'm shocked how quickly life passes by.

Happy New Year! May you all have a wonderful 2009.

Expanding

We've been living here in Florida for a bit over 4 years now. My son has grown up here, and other than a brief stint back up in Maine, this is all he knows. Yet, I've always just had it in my head that I wouldn't be living here for long. The first week we moved here I was homesick. So homesick that I would just lay there at night trying to figure out how to get the hell out of the sunshine state.

I guess now, I'm realizing that maybe if I give it more of a chance......I won't have as much time to hate it. The Boy loves it here because there is rarely a day we can't spend outside. This is the place I've suddenly found my green thumb. Lucky for me because it has helped keep me sane amidst my acclimation to the heat.

I have friends and family up in New England still. And, though a certain cousin will hate that I'm writing this...it was down here that I became a baseball fan. Thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays, I've finally understood what all the hype was about.

I guess my point is, I should stop dwelling and ruminating about getting out of here. I'm here, and I should focus on now.

Houseplants and fungus gnats

I'm pretty new to houseplants. Actually, with the exception of two rather large "lucky bamboo" plants I have in my kitchen and a couple of cactus plants, I only plant things outdoors. I recently have been reading and getting more interested in growing indoors.

After some random trips to garden centers, I ended up falling in love with the golden pothos. It is pretty fool proof according to all the books I've read, and it also looks nice hanging in my house. OK, so I ended up buying four. Three for us, and one for a gift for my Mom.

I noticed that we seemed to have some "fruit flies" hanging around. No big deal, considering I live in Florida. Right?

Well, then I realized they were living in my beautiful newly potted golden pothos plants. Not on the plants, but in the soil. So, after much research, I have concluded they are a common pest called fungus gnats. And, I had to inform my Mom that I gave her an infested houseplant.

If anyone knows of another solution to the problem, feel free to tell me. But, for now I'm trying the solution I found on gardenweb. Soak a mosquito dunk in water, and when it is fully dissolved water the plants with it. It should kill all the larvae without causing any environmental issues in my home. I guess sometimes you have to do it a couple cycles, but they do not harm your plant. Oh, and apparently they don't harm humans either!

Hello poor neglected blog.

It has been awhile, hasn't it? Almost two months since I've posted. I think I have been busy focusing on so many other things, I just didn't know what I had left to give to my blog.

But, I'm feeling a renewed energy lately. I'm going to try to post a few times a week and go from there.

So, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. May you all have a wonderful 2009!

Please Vote

Please get out and vote today. Even if you are sick of all the politics we've been listening to for... how long now? Don't forget that not only are we voting for the next president of the United States, we are also voting for issues local to each of us.

Please don't let the lines deter you.

FIVE!!

Yesterday was the Boy's fifth birthday. He is so excited to be five. When he woke up he immediately stretched out as much as possible on his bed. Then he asked "Did I grow overnight? I'm FIVE now. I must be much bigger!!" Of course I told him he was.

This birthday made me a bit wistful. Even though I love the boy he is becoming, I so miss how much of the "babyness" he has grown out of. He still loves to cuddle and give hugs, thankfully. Plus, there still is a bit of that cherub look in his face. He's turned into such a character.

Here are a couple pictures from our day. Those are cupcake cones. I had never made these before, but even though a couple exploded(!) in the oven, they were delicious. They taste better than they look. They boy was thrilled!

Rain Barrels

It's no secret we garden a lot here. I do my best to plant native and drought tolerant plants, but when there is a drought.....plants still need water to survive. After seeing how high our water bill went last year from watering our plants, we opted to cut back drastically and see who survived. I'm happy to say most did make it, and I nurtured and babied a few who just needed the extra pampering.

This year, we were pretty excited when my Dad(Bubba) backed into the driveway with two Rain Barrels. He works locally with a man who is a native gardening extraordinaire. It was the highlight of our week, and the Boy is already planning how he wants to paint them. Now we just need to get some gutters up, and they'll be even more efficient!

~One of Two Rain Barrels



~Top of Rain Barrel



~Spicket on bottom to hook hose up to!!

Eight Years of Marriage

Today, my Husband and I are celebrating eight years of marriage. It's hard to believe because it just feels like we've always been together. Lot's of laughter with very few tears is how I sum up our marriage. I'll take it. And,of course that beautiful son we got out of the deal.

Happy Anniversary Husband of mine.

Paul Newman

A great man, whom I respected.

Neighbor Cat is Back

I wrote about this particular cat here. I have seen her in my yard every so often, and she had kittens in the spring.

After speaking with neighbors, I found out that she used to belong to a family who lived on the left side of my house about five years ago. When they moved, they abandoned her and left her to roam. My neighbors used to leave food for her outside. By the time we bought this house almost four years ago, the woman who lives on the right side of my house had been taking care of her.

Well, she got rid of all her stuff and bought a bus ticket to California. And, unfortunately left this cat behind. I didn't realize, until seeing her a few months back. Someone must have been feeding her as she didn't look thin or sick.

Last evening I was taking the trash to the trash cans. I saw her laying behind on of my cans. It's a very sheltered area. She didn't move, run or even look at me. She's such a skittish cat that I became worried. I spoke to her. All she did was look up. She was skin and bones, and look just plain sick.

I was afraid she was dying. So, just in case, I brought her water and food. When I placed it in front of her she got up and was scared. I spoke again to her, she relaxed and started eating and drinking. She was starving. I left some more food and water for her overnight. I checked this morning and could not find her. I would be reassured that the food was eaten, except I live in Florida. Who knows what could have eaten it. I am hoping it was her.

I'm not sure what to do. If I find her today, I'm calling our vet to see what she recommends. Poor kitty. She must feel abandoned and alone.

Rooting Hibiscus

I found some great tutorials online for rooting hibiscus plants. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, so I just went ahead and did it. For anyone looking to do this, I used these two sites: Rooting Tropical Hibiscus and Hibiscus 101.

I did three varieties. I have 6 different varieties in my garden, but I chose to do the three hardiest. In six to eight weeks I should know if they took. I don't have anywhere left to plant hibiscus, so I may have to give them away!

Happy Fall Y'all

It's been awhile.

Almost a month ago we were very close to moving back to Maine. I mean, we were so close that I could taste the crisp fall air. Things didn't work out, and I'm taking that to mean it was not the right time.

I'm not unhappy to still be here in Florida, as there are some good things here too. I think I am unhappy in this particular part of Florida. But, we are still homeschooling the Boy, which is leading us to new groups to join up with. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'll have some more to share soon. Of course, as always, it is going to focus heavily on the garden. I'm not sure what I am going to do with this space at the moment, but for now I'm content.

Break

I'm taking a break for a bit. There is a lot going on in my life right now that needs sorting out. We are fine, just some big decisions on the horizon.

~Cathy

Tuesday

Today we:

Ate delicious blueberry scones, that tasted more like blueberry biscuits.

Ran around in tropical storm Fay, and got soaked.

Read lots of books.

Made lots of tea.

Had some serious discussions about the future.

Built gigantic lego creations.

Tried to remember all we have that we should be thankful for.

Some Disney Pictures

Here are a few pictures. I'm still sorting through the mass of pictures we took. Enjoy.

~Magic Kingdom~



~Magic Kingdom~



~Animal Kingdom~



~Magic Kingdom~




~Animal Kingdom~

Vegans in Disney World

We had a wonderful trip. The Boy found Disney World to be even more magical then I think he was imagining. His favorite ride? "It's a Small World." Be careful, that song has a way of never leaving your head.

The Boy's favorite park by far was the Animal Kingdom. He's an animal lover, and we were lucky to see most of the animals in the two days we spent in Animal Kingdom. I have over 350 pictures to go through, and I will post a few over the next couple days. I don't put pictures of the Boy on here, and of course those are the best ones. But, I do have some to share.

Surprisingly, we found some vegan food. Granted, a lot of it was fruit and salads. But, we would highly recommend Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland if you are in the Magic Kingdom. The absolute best variety and actual food was in the Animal Kingdom at Tusker House Restaurant. It was a huge buffet style place, and it was CLEAN. They had an actual section called Vegetarian Station which was filled with the most delicious food I have eaten at a restaurant in years. We ate there for lunch and dinner. I cannot recommend them enough. If you aren't vegan, I would still recommend them. Their food is fantastic.

Coincidences

The other night I woke up hearing a very loud thud. I immediately ran in to check the Boy, but he was sound asleep. So, I woke up my husband who didn't hear a thing. We looked around, but we didn't see anything. Eventually, we decided to just go back to bed. I think my husband thought I was crazy.

While pulling into our driveway last night, my husband said "What is that on our roof?" I looked up and there was a fairly large rock sitting up there. Apparently that was the noise I heard. How it got up there? We can guess, but probably won't ever know.

We were arriving home from our local "mall". I quote it because it's hard for me to accept that it lives up to the name "mall". I was trying on some shorts for our upcoming trip, and in the rush didn't notice the ink security tag. I only realized the back was off the security tag when it gouged the side of my thigh. I'm hoping it only ripped open my leg and not numerous others before me.

We're heading out on our trip today. Our friend is checking in on the Cat and fish. Hopefully they will behave for him.